WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE MYTHOLOGY OR STORY BEHIND THESEUS AND HIPPOLYTA, CUPID, “PYRAMUS AND THISBE,” AND “THE GOLDEN ASS”?
Answered by Duncan B.
Shakespeare put each of these characters into his play,Theseus, Hippolyta, Cupid and “the Golden Ass,” and the play “Pyramus and Thisbe”, into his masterpiece, A Midsummer Night Dream. This essay will give background on the character and show why Shakespeare picked them. Characters who are mentioned in this essay are Theseus, Hippolyta, Cupid and “the Golden Ass.” Also the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” will be touched on.
The first character we will mention is Theseus. In A Midsummer Night Dream, Theseus is the Duke of Athens. Theseus went on a long journey to get to were he is and it begins with his birth. His parents were Aegeus and Aethra. Ageus had the spirit of Poseidon within him (Classical Mythology 533.) Aegeus was the King of Athens making Theseus the heir to the throne said by D’aulaires on page 150. The story of Theseus in the Labyrinth is his most legendary story. In this tale, Theseus is sent to Crete. Theseus decided that he would to travel to Crete with thirteen other Athenians and go into the Labyrinth to face the Minotaur. The Minotaur is a creature that is half man and half bull (D’aulaires p149.) King Minos was the King of Crete. His daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus. She went to Daedalus (creator of the Labyrinth) hoping he knew a way to help Theseus. Daedalus gave her a magic ball of thread. The plan was to have Theseus enter the Labyrinth at midnight while the beast was sound asleep. Then the special ball of thread was lead Theseus to the Minotaur. The tactic worked and when Theseus arrived the Minotaur was fast asleep. Theseus defeated the Minotaur with his bare hands. Within this story Ariadne helped him so much that Theseus took her home to Athens but later ditched her due to Dionysus, the god of wine, wanting Aridne to be his queen. Unfortunately on the journey back to Athens Theseus forgot to raise the white sails which made Ageus think that Thesus was dead so he killed himself. This left Theseus the King or Duke of Athens and gave Shakespeare an easy choice for the royalty.
Next is Hippolyta who is known to be the queen of the Amazons. The Amazons are a group of women fighters who are much more powerful then men fighters (D’aulaires p 136.) In Greek Myths, Heracles is sent to fetch Hippolyta’s golden girdle for one of his twelve labors(Classical Mythology on page 614.) When Heracles went to the land of the Amazons, Hippolyta instantly fell in love with him and she gave him the girdle without a fight. But Hera, the queen of the Gods, was disguised as a Amazon, created a rumor saying Heracles was going to kidnap Hippolyta. On Heracles' journey's Hera always has been pestering him. This created a large fight and in that fight Hippolyta died. Shakespeare probably picked Hippolyta to be Theseus' queen due to the couple showing mature love and it differs from the lovers traits.
Another mythological creature in A Mid Summer Night Dream is Cupid. Cupid is actually a Roman god based upon the Greek god Eros (Classical Mythology on page 614.)
Cupid
Eros is the son of the Goddess of love, Aphrodite. Eros is notorious for his bow and arrow of love. The first thing you see when shot with an arrow of love will be your desire for the rest of your life. Eros would usually laugh at these situations because he is very mischievous (D’aulaires p 30.) Shakespeare had an easy choice with Cupid seeing how is, still today, an icon of love.
` The “Golden Ass” is a book written by Apuleius. The story was originally written in Latin in the second century but was translated into English in 1566. The main character, Lucius, desires sex and magic. Due to this he is turned into an ass. Throughout the story he is humiliated due to him being a donkey, said by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Lucius isn't directly put into the play but the character Bottom represents Lucius seeing how Bottom had an ass head for half of the performance.
“Pyramus and Thisbe” is the play the lackluster actors preformed for Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is told by Ovid, and originates from Roman Mythology says the Holiday Spot . The two lovers leave town trying to find love. Yet, when Pyramus thinks Thisbe is killed by a lion he kills himself. Thisbe was actually alive and soon found out that Pyramus killed himself so she did the same. Shakespeare might have chosen this play within his play because it is a paradox of how his play ends.
Pyramus and Thisbe
To summarize, Theseus was chosen due to him already being the Duke of Athens. Hippolyta was chosen due to her love with Theseus showing mature love much unlike the young lovers like Lysander and Hermia. Cupid was chosen due to his well known symbolism of love. And lastly the "Golden Ass" was chosen due to his clumsiness and desire for sex.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE MYTHOLOGY OR STORY BEHIND THESEUS AND HIPPOLYTA, CUPID, “PYRAMUS AND THISBE,” AND “THE GOLDEN ASS”?
Answered by Duncan B.
Shakespeare put each of these characters into his play,Theseus, Hippolyta, Cupid and “the Golden Ass,” and the play “Pyramus and Thisbe”, into his masterpiece, A Midsummer Night Dream. This essay will give background on the character and show why Shakespeare picked them. Characters who are mentioned in this essay are Theseus, Hippolyta, Cupid and “the Golden Ass.” Also the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” will be touched on.
The first character we will mention is Theseus. In A Midsummer Night Dream, Theseus is the Duke of Athens. Theseus went on a long journey to get to were he is and it begins with his birth. His parents were Aegeus and Aethra. Ageus had the spirit of Poseidon within him (Classical Mythology 533.) Aegeus was the King of Athens making Theseus the heir to the throne said by D’aulaires on page 150. The story of Theseus in the Labyrinth is his most legendary story. In this tale, Theseus is sent to Crete. Theseus decided that he would to travel to Crete with thirteen other Athenians and go into the Labyrinth to face the Minotaur. The Minotaur is a creature that is half man and half bull (D’aulaires p149.) King Minos was the King of Crete. His daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus. She went to Daedalus (creator of the Labyrinth) hoping he knew a way to help Theseus. Daedalus gave her a magic ball of thread. The plan was to have Theseus enter the Labyrinth at midnight while the beast was sound asleep. Then the special ball of thread was lead Theseus to the Minotaur. The tactic worked and when Theseus arrived the Minotaur was fast asleep. Theseus defeated the Minotaur with his bare hands. Within this story Ariadne helped him so much that Theseus took her home to Athens but later ditched her due to Dionysus, the god of wine, wanting Aridne to be his queen. Unfortunately on the journey back to Athens Theseus forgot to raise the white sails which made Ageus think that Thesus was dead so he killed himself. This left Theseus the King or Duke of Athens and gave Shakespeare an easy choice for the royalty.
Next is Hippolyta who is known to be the queen of the Amazons. The Amazons are a group of women fighters who are much more powerful then men fighters (D’aulaires p 136.) In Greek Myths, Heracles is sent to fetch Hippolyta’s golden girdle for one of his twelve labors(Classical Mythology on page 614.) When Heracles went to the land of the Amazons, Hippolyta instantly fell in love with him and she gave him the girdle without a fight. But Hera, the queen of the Gods, was disguised as a Amazon, created a rumor saying Heracles was going to kidnap Hippolyta. On Heracles' journey's Hera always has been pestering him. This created a large fight and in that fight Hippolyta died. Shakespeare probably picked Hippolyta to be Theseus' queen due to the couple showing mature love and it differs from the lovers traits.
Another mythological creature in A Mid Summer Night Dream is Cupid. Cupid is actually a Roman god based upon the Greek god Eros (Classical Mythology on page 614.)
` The “Golden Ass” is a book written by Apuleius. The story was originally written in Latin in the second century but was translated into English in 1566. The main character, Lucius, desires sex and magic. Due to this he is turned into an ass. Throughout the story he is humiliated due to him being a donkey, said by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Lucius isn't directly put into the play but the character Bottom represents Lucius seeing how Bottom had an ass head for half of the performance.
“Pyramus and Thisbe” is the play the lackluster actors preformed for Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is told by Ovid, and originates from Roman Mythology says the Holiday Spot . The two lovers leave town trying to find love. Yet, when Pyramus thinks Thisbe is killed by a lion he kills himself. Thisbe was actually alive and soon found out that Pyramus killed himself so she did the same. Shakespeare might have chosen this play within his play because it is a paradox of how his play ends.
To summarize, Theseus was chosen due to him already being the Duke of Athens. Hippolyta was chosen due to her love with Theseus showing mature love much unlike the young lovers like Lysander and Hermia. Cupid was chosen due to his well known symbolism of love. And lastly the "Golden Ass" was chosen due to his clumsiness and desire for sex.
Works Cited
"The Ass' Head." Royal Shakespeare Company (2006): n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://www.rsc.org.uk/exploringshakespeare/dstagingchoices/makeupan dtransformation_theasshead.htm>.
Morford, Mark. Classical Mythology. 4. New York: Longman, 1991. 533 & 614. Print.
D'aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. Book of Greek Myths. New York: Doubleday Book for Young Readers, 1962. 30, 148-157,136. Print.
"Pyramus and Thisbe." Holiday Spo n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/stories/pyramus_thisbe.htm>.